Jubilee Hotel refurbishment an overwhelming success

We are overjoyed by the positive public response to our major refurbishment of Brisbane’s Jubilee Hotel, which has been given a world-class Rohrig makeover.

The iconic Brisbane pub is once again the go-to option for locals and now boasts its own microbrewery, inviting new bars, and the hottest beer garden in town with a live music stage and stadium-sized screen!

“This was a challenging project, but it shows what is possible with a heritage-listed pub like the Jubilee Hotel. The heritage façade has been restored to its original condition, and inside the Jubilee has been transformed into one of Brisbane’s best pubs,” Rohrig Managing Director, Glenn Rohrig said.

The 134-year-old heritage-listed pub renovation started with demolition of the interior and beer garden, and then the heritage façade was restored to its former glory, finishing with a redesigned layout offering nearly twice the usable space.

Architecture for the renovation was undertaken by Blight Rayner, who achieved a unique balance of heritage and contemporary design with innovative design elements throughout. We were limited in what we could change, being a heritage site, however Blight Rayner designed a layout that both highlights the historic design while offering a luxurious, modern feel for pubgoers.

The footprint of the venue was also extended, which allowed for a larger beer garden, second kitchen, bistro dining area, additional function spaces, three bars, offices, and a microbrewery. During the design process we provided a life-size mock-up for the client, which led to various functional design changes. Our ability to offer mock-ups often leads to functional tweaks, which is why it is such an important part of our building process.

From the outside, the Jubilee’s gorgeous heritage façade looks better than ever. The building is recognisable for its heritage brick features and restoring these properly was a high priority for us. The brick features were restored to their natural state, which involved removing lead paint covering the brickwork.

The star of this renovation is the beer garden and courtyard, featuring translucent roofing that offers weather protection while allowing natural light to flood the courtyard. Seven diagrids, each with private booths, offer a diamond-shaped courtyard layout and elegant façade glazing is used to separate the structures. This is a beer garden that has to be seen to be believed – a must this holiday season!

A unique feature of the renovation is a custom designed kitchen hood that sits high above the floor and is incorporated into the ceiling space to provide an open-plan kitchen layout. A ventilated ceiling makes the high kitchen hood possible, both improving space in the kitchen and improving its appearance from the beer garden.

“The Jubilee showcases the best in modern pub design, but it was a complex build process. The delivery for this project had unique complexities like site access, the extension, and the refurbishment of heritage elements.” Rohrig Construction Manager, Matthew Tucker said.

We had previously completed the Pimpama Tavern and Railway Hotel venues for this client, and we are proud to have been given the opportunity to undertake this exciting Jubilee Hotel renovation.

Doors opened on 11 November for the reborn Jubilee Hotel and the public and media response to this project has been overwhelmingly positive, at what is now Brisbane’s latest and greatest pub.